Contact centres - a strategic focus

Trust. Customer service. ROI. Brand management and a perfect integration partner to all other marketing channels are encouraging key messages taken from this piece of research, says Granby's Joanne Varey

With the proliferation of communications channels available to consumers and marketers continuing to increase, this survey has highlighted that at those critical touchpoints in your customer and brand journey, the phone is a preferred communication channel for consumers to interact with brands and businesses for a positive experience. And it’s a win-win relationship; 59% of consumers feel speaking to someone on the phone provides them with immediate answers, whilst over 68% of marketers agree the phone is effective in achieving campaign objectives. Plus 78% of marketers confirm they can calculate the ROI of their contact centre activity.

Equally encouraging is the positive amplification of results when contact centre activity is integrated with almost any other media channel making the phone a perfect partner in most integrated campaigns (B2B or B2C) which echo’s our personal view that the contact centre is still as relevant in today marketing mix as it ever was and shouldn’t be overlooked when campaign planning.

With responsible marketing at the top of our agenda something for us all to consider is the consumers ‘distrust’ of brands/companies who fail to publish an option to speak with someone on the telephone. 60% of those surveyed do not trust brands that do not offer a customer service number. Similarly, the message about a negative experience and consequential impact further demonstrates the need to get customer service and experience right first time, with a one touch resolution process in place if brands want to maintain brand integrity and manage their reputation with amazing customer service.

Overall we feel the key points this piece of research has shown is that the multichannel communications centre of today and tomorrow is, and will continue to be, a critical touch point for businesses and consumers. Those brands who strategically focus in this area as part of the overall business strategy are sure to reap the loyalty and goodwill of consumers whilst balancing the budget and ROI.

View the infographic here